Home > Great American Court Cases > Preface

U.S. citizens take comfort and pride in living under the rule of law. Our elected representatives write and en force the laws that govern everything from familial relationships to the dealings of multi-billion-dollar corporations, from the quality of the air to the content of the programs broadcast through it. But it is the judicial system that interprets the meaning of the law and makes it tangible to the average citizen through the drama of trials and the force of court orders and judicial opinions.

The four volumes of Great American Court Cases profile nearly 800 judicial proceedings. The editors con sulted textbooks, curriculum guides, and authoritative Internet sites to identify cases studied for their influence on the development of key aspects of law in the United States. Although the majority of the cases resulted in decisions by the U.S. Supreme Court, nearly 60 cases from state courts or lower-level federal jurisdictions are included because of their impact or their role in an emerging point of law. Comprehensiveness requires that fundamental cases from the nineteenth century and earlier, such as Marbury v. Madison (1803) and Swift v. Tyson (1842), are included. This is especially true in Volume IV, which covers how laws have shaped the government. Nevertheless, to serve the information needs of today's users, most of the cases are from the twentieth century, with emphasis on the last three decades.

Scope and Arrangement

The case profiles are grouped according to the legal principle on which they reflect, with each volume covering one or two broad areas of the law as follows:

• Volume I: Individual Liberties includes cases that have influenced such First and Second Amendment issues as freedom of the press, privacy, the right to bear arms, and the legal concerns emerging from the growth of the Internet. Libel, the Establishment Clause, and other important facets of freedom of speech and freedom of religion are treated in separate essays with their own cases.
• Volume II: Criminal Justice covers cases that establish the rights of the accused before, during, and after trial, or address criminal law and procedure, search and seizure, drug laws, the jury, damages, and capital punishment.
• Volume III: Equal Protection and Family Law includes cases related to two broad areas of law. Equal protection issues covered in this volume include the broad range of civil rights related issues, from affirmative action, segregation, and voting rights to the special concerns of immigrants, juveniles, the disabled, and gay and lesbian citizens. Family issues covered include child support and custody and reproductive rights. Sexual harassment and the right to die are also represented in this volume.
• Volume IV: Business and Government also encompasses two major spheres of the law. Consumer protection, antitrust, and labor-related cases supplement the business fundamentals of contracts and corporate law. The government cases document the legal evolution of the branches of the federal government as well as the federal government's relation to state power. Separate topics address environmental law, military issues, national security, taxation, and the legal history of Native American issues. Appendixes in this volume also present the full text of the U.S. Constitution and its amendments and a chronological table of Supreme Court justices.

Coverage

Issue overviews, averaging 2,000 words in length, provide the context for the case profiles that follow. Case discussions range from 750 to 2,000 words according to their complexity and importance. Each provides the background of the case and issues involved, the main arguments presented by each side, and an explanation of the court's decision, as well as the legal, political, and social impact of the decision. Excerpts from the majority, concurring, and dissenting opinions are often included. Cross-references lead the user to related cases, while suggestions for further reading launch in-depth research. Within each issue section, the cases are arranged from earliest to most recent to indicate the evolution of precedent.

The editors have had to make hard choices when a single case has bearing on more than one issue, as often occurs. The landmark reproductive rights decision in Roe v. Wade, for example, is based upon an assertion of privacy rights, so the case could have been placed with either issue. Also, the case of Marbury v. Madison, while establishing the concept of judicial review, dealt foremost with a separation of powers issue at the time that it was decided, meriting its inclusion in the separation of powers section of Volume IV. Users should consult the cumulative index that appears in each volume to find cases throughout the set that apply to a particular topic.

A small percentage (under 10 percent) of cases were previously covered in Women's Rights on Trial or Great American Trials, both Gale products. Selection criteria for each publication were different, but the Great American Court Cases editors preferred this slight overlap to omission of landmark cases. Entry elements particular to Great American Court Cases, such as the Supreme Court justices' votes, have been added to the material, along with updating as appropriate.

The editors determined that with the focus on constitutional law, sensationalistic cases, such as the O. J. Simpson trial and the trial of Ted Kaczynski, were more appropriately covered in the sidebars that complement the main text rather than receiving full treatment in the main body of the text. Also, at the time of publication, the impeachment trial of Bill Clinton had not reached its conclusion. It, therefore, does not receive coverage in this series.

Additional Features

Great American Court Cases has several features to enhance its usefulness to students and non-professional researchers:

The legal citation appears at the head of each case profile, enabling researchers to access the authoritative records of the court action. The "Deciphering Legal Citations" sidebar that is part of this preface explains the elements that make up the citations and remarks on the abbreviations for the various series, called "reporters," where records are published.

Each case opens with a factbox so the user can quickly scan (when available): the names of litigants; the initiating litigant's claim; the names of chief lawyers on each side; the name of the judge or justice who wrote the majority opinion or decision, as well as names of those who concurred or dissented; the date and location of the decision; the summary of the decision and comments on the decision's significance.

Sidebars in the case profiles highlight interesting aspects of the legal process or arguments, key participants, or related facts and incidents. Some outline the arguments for and against a particular issue or line of reasoning, which will promote critical thinking as well as fuel debates or mock-trials. Some also discuss related cases that did not warrant their inclusion as a main case in the text.

Approximately 300 photographs and graphics depict individuals and events related to the cases.

A broad overview of the court system and the disciplines of law is presented in a general essay regarding the structure of the legal system.

Contributors have tried to present the issues and proceedings in language accessible to high school, college, and public library users. Legal terms must sometimes be used for precision, however, so a glossary of more than 600 words and phrases appears in each volume.

Users interested in a particular case can locate it by name (e.g., Brown v. Board of Education) in the Alphabetical Listing of Cases in the back of each volume. Those who wish to trace the changing focus of legal interest and opinion over time will find the Chronological Listing of Cases in the back of each volume helpful.

A Cumulative Index to cases, people, events, and subjects appears in each volume. The Cumulative Index is repeated in each volume to ensure that multiple users of the set have simultaneous access to its complete contents.

Audience for Great American Court Cases

The four volumes of Great American Court Cases cover more U.S. Supreme Court and state or lower federal court cases in greater depth than other works for a non-professional user. The selection of issues and cases, the consistent treatment, and the minimal use of legal jargon were designed with the student user in mind. Court cases bring important issues into focus in a dramatic way. They are increasingly used in curricula for studies of U.S. government, civics, history, and journalism. Law magnet school and pre-law courses can use Great American Court Cases to introduce important content in an accessible manner, while mock court programs will find a wide range of source material here. Students with interdisciplinary writing assignments and exercises in critical thinking will also find inspiration. Beyond the classroom, a broad range of people from activists to history buffs and Court TV watchers, will find the set compelling and useful.

Acknowledgments

Leah Knight, Meggin Condino, and Linda Irvin conceptualized Great American Court Cases and solicited feedback from potential users. A number of public and school librarians as well as teachers contributed to the development of the set. While several provided early input, Hilda Weisburg of Morristown High School in New Jersey continued to answer questions to help shape the product through its development. Kathy Nemeh and Diane Carter reviewed selected material for legal accuracy.

Two websites, which are freely available to the public, proved indispensible as resources for fact gathering and checking. These websites are the Findlaw site located at http://www.findlaw.com and the Oyez Oyez Oyez site located at http://court.it-services.nwu.edu.oyez.

Suggestions Are Welcome

The editors welcome suggestions on any aspect of this work. Please send comments to: Editors, Great American Court Cases, Gale Group, 27500 Drake Rd., Farmington Hills, MI 48331.